The present invention relates generally to magnetic disk drives and more particularly to protection of read/write transducers utilizing magnetoresistive read sensors against electrostatic discharge or electrical overstress during processing and assembly.
Magnetic head disk drive systems have been widely accepted in the computer industry as a cost effective form of data storage. In a magnetic disk drive system a magnetic recording medium, in the form of a disk, rotates at high speed while a magnetic read/write transducer, referred to as a magnetic head, "flies" slightly above the surface of the rotating disk. The magnetic disk is rotated by means of a spindle drive motor. The magnetic head is attached to or formed integrally with a "slider" which is suspended over the disk on a spring-loaded support arm known as the actuator arm. As the magnetic disk rotates at operating speed the moving air generated by the rotating disk in conjunction with the physical design of the slider operate to lift the magnetic head allowing it to glide or fly slightly above and over the disk surface on a cushion of air, referred to as an air bearing. The flying height of the magnetic head over the disk surface is typically only a few microinches or less and is primarily a function of disk rotation, the aerodynamic properties of the slider assembly and the force exerted by the spring-loaded actuator arm.
A major problem encountered during manufacture, handling and use of magnetic recording transducers, referred to as heads, is the buildup of electrostatic charges on the various elements of a head or other objects which come into contact with the heads, particular heads of the thin film type, and the accompanying spurious discharge of the static electricity thus generated. Static charges may be produced by the presence of certain materials, such as plastics, during manufacture and subsequent handling of the heads, for example. These charges arc across the edge of the insulating layer between the magnetic pole tips and adjacent conductive layers which are exposed and positioned adjacent to the transducing gap at the slider air bearing surface facing the recording medium. This discharge causes erosion of the pole tips and degradation of the transducer in reading and writing of data.
The above-described electrostatic discharge (ESD) problems associated with the thin film inductive read/write heads are well documented and several solutions have been proposed. Elser et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,317,149 discloses an inductive head having short discharge paths formed by the deposition of conductive material in recesses formed in an insulating layer so that the static electric discharge will occur in areas displaced from the critical pole tip and gap area displaced from the critical pole tip and gap area at the slider air bearing surface. Schwartz et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,454 discloses an inductive head assembly wherein the magnetic pole piece and the inductive coil winding are coupled to the slider to allow discharge of any static electric charges which may build up. The winding is connected to the slider body via a diode with high forward and reverse voltage drops, or through a fusible link.
Magnetoresistive (MR) sensors are well-known and are particularly useful as read elements in magnetic transducers, especially at high data recording densities. The MR read sensor provides a higher output signal than an inductive read head. This higher output signal results in a higher signal to noise ratio for the recording channel and thus allows higher areal density of recorded data on a magnetic disk surface to be achieved. As described above, when an MR sensor is exposed to ESD, or even a voltage or current input larger than that intended under normal operating conditions, referred to as electrical overstress or EOS, the MR read sensor and other parts of the head may be damaged. This sensitivity to electrical damage is particularly severe for MR read sensors because of these sensors' relatively small physical size. For example, an MR sensor used for extremely high recording densities will have a cross-section of 100 Angstroms (A) by 1.0 micrometers (um) or smaller. Discharge of voltages of only a few volts through such a physically small resistor is sufficient to produce currents capable of severely damaging or completely destroying the MR sensor. The nature of the damage which may be experienced by an MR sensor varies significantly, including complete destruction of the sensor via melting and evaporation, contamination of the air bearing surface, generation of shorts via electrical breakdown, and milder forms of damage in which the head performance may be degraded. This type of damage to the MR head has been found to occur during both processing and use and poses a serious problem in the manufacturing and handling of magnetic heads incorporating MR read sensors.
An electrical short provided across the input leads of the MR sensor element is very effective in raising the failure voltage and minimizing or eliminating damage to the MR head due to ESD. The shorted leads shunt the majority of the discharge current around the MR sensor element. Commonly assigned co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/187,881 filed Jan. 26, 1994 discloses shorting the MR sensor element leads at the sensor input pads. However, application and removal of the short circuit, together with the process changes required to provide leads and associated connection pads for other head elements, such as the magnetic shields and substrate, can make this approach difficult and expensive to implement. Thus, a head design which provides electrical shorting of the head elements and which does not require extensive process changes, and allows easy removal of the short prior to the head being integrated and assembled in a magnetic storage disk drive is needed.